The Assistant Principal's Guide

New Strategies for New Responsibilities

M. Scott Norton

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781138814639
• eBook ISBN: 9781317600923
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Though traditionally responsible for school operations, assistant principals increasingly find themselves expected to provide academic leadership as students face a growing emphasis on academic performance. This timely book helps current and aspiring assistant principals implement best practices for their evolving roles, providing the knowledge and skills required to succeed in their schools. Coverage includes:

• Emphasis on competency-based leadership requirements
• Research-based models, tips, snapshots, best-practices, and recommendations
• Unique discussion of the assistant principal as a student advocate
• Organizational strategies, professional growth activities, and operational models for program implementation
• Specific leadership responsibilities for school climate, personnel administration, professional development, and performance appraisal
• Case studies and discussion questions to foster applied learning

Chapter 1
The Assistant School Principal

Bringing This Leadership Position to Life!

Primary chapter goal:

To underscore the need for positive changes in the role of the assistant school principal for meeting present and future school goals and objectives.

You have most likely played the game of word relationships whereby someone says certain words and you respond immediately with the first word or thought that comes to mind. OK, ready? What word comes to mind when you think of the word, assistant principal? _____. Did you perhaps say disciplinarian, principal’s helper, it all depends—or did you just go blank in search of an answer? Don’t be surprised to learn that the role of the assistant school principal has been somewhat nebulous since 1839 when head assistants were hired in a few schools to serve under the principal-teacher (Pierce, 1935). At this early date, school principals, sometimes called headmasters, commonly taught in the classroom as well as taking care of administrative duties. The primary responsibility of the head assistants was to replace the school principal when he was teaching. Although the position of assistant school principal has been established in schools nationally, there are still many schools, especially at the elementary school level, that do not have assistant principals on the staff. Through the 1950s and 1960s, many elementary schools still had school principals who served part time as classroom teachers. And today, many elementary schools in the nation still do not employ an assistant principal.

Empirical evidence suggests that all too many schools that do have assistant principals do not have meaningful roles for them to play. This chapter underscores the seriousness of the lack of purpose in the assistant principal’s position responsibilities today, and the following chapters discuss specific ideas as to what must be done to bring the assistant school principal to life. Research has found that school principals are the ones who determine the responsibilities of assistant principals in their schools. It is for this reason that the information in this guide is of special importance for the school principal as well as for assistant principals and those who aspire to the role of assistant principal. The school principal commonly hires the assistant principal, establishes the responsibilities for the assistant principal, supervises and evaluates the assistant principal, and serves as a mentor for the assistant principal(s) in his or her school.

Changing Times and New Educational Demands for School Principals

The lack of retention of quality school principals continues to be an inhibiting factor in efforts to improve educational outcomes in schools nationally. The work responsibilities of the nation’s school principals have increased continuously over the last several decades due to internal and external increases in job requirements, demands for program performance accountability, ongoing changes of mandates to meet curriculum/achievement standards, the diversification of the student population and community populations that must be served, and the reluctance of licensed personnel willing to help meet these challenges. In one study, the increasing demands on the work life of school principals was named as the number one reason for their leaving or considering leaving their present position as principal (Norton, 2002). In addition, the increasing demands for accountability within the principal’s role have decreased the interest of other educators to aspire to the principalship as a professional career. “Within the mandate for school reform and instructional leadership, there is recognition that one person is not capable of performing all the roles traditionally prescribed to the school principal, yet the significance of the assistant’s role is not given import” (Dunleavy, 2011, p. 9).

Foundational Factors That Underscore the Need for Effective Principal Support

Several factors underscoring the need for additional principal support are set forth in the following summary:

1. “Expectations for the principalship have steadily expanded since the reforms of the early 1980’s, always adding to, and never subtracting from, the job description” (Copland, 2001, p. 4). Work life considerations have loomed important for those persons in this leadership position.

2. “If there is an all-encompassing challenge for school leaders, it is to lead the transition from the bureaucratic model of schooling with its emphasis on minimal levels of education for many, to a post industrial, adaptive model, with the goal of educating all youngsters well” (NASSP, “Changing Role of the Middle Level and High School Leader,” 2007, p. 3).

3. “School leaders today must serve as leaders for student learning” (Institute for Educational Leadership, 2000). School principals are working under the mandates of NCLB (No Child Left Behind), as well as related state requirements to meet prescribed student achievement standards, in order to avoid the sanctions that are possible under Title I funding. Student testing requirements, academic achievement standards, and teacher performance assessments and evaluations serve to control much of the school principal’s administrative time.

Academic performance standards for students are required by federal agencies, state departments and local school boards. Such standards, in some cases, are changed from year to year; principals are placed in a quandary in their efforts to change procedures that were only recently initiated.

4. External interventions and flawed mandates inhibit effective practices. Although we encourage efforts on the part of school leaders to stand strong for policies that favor student achievement, they have yet to be able to take strong stands against various external policy recommendations that are injurious to the best interests of students. Politically, their hands most often are tied to stand and confront such issues. Nevertheless, a true student advocate must have the courage to speak against flawed policies and recommendations that are damaging rather than helpful to students.

5. Empirical and research evidence resulting from limited study of the assistant school principal’s position reveals that the work responsibilities frequently are spasmodic and loosely tied to the real tasks that principals must perform in practice. In such instances, the need for quality succession to the position of school principal is inhibited.

6. The roles for school principals are changing from authoritative and controlling approaches to positive relational approaches that serve to empower others through various methods of distributive leadership. Knowledge and skills that center on learning leadership and the implementation of distributive leadership are needed, as opposed to managing and controlling people and programs.

7. The preparation programs for practice in educational administration have not always centered on student learning and achievement strategies. Rather, such courses as school finance, supervision, school facilities planning, school law, policy and regulation development, school organization, guidance, and other management courses were part of their preparation programs. Curriculum and instructional leadership work commonly was included in one course of supervision. The one course on the school principal commonly considered the work of school principals at all three levels of instruction: elementary, junior high/middle school, and secondary. In most programs, the study of the assistant school principalship is completely neglected.

It is not that the courses in the foregoing paragraph are not of relevance to school administration, rather the preparation program for school administrators most often has not placed an emphasis on student achievement and the fostering of a learning culture within the school.

8. Just as former president Harry Truman’s desk plate indicated that “The buck stops here,” that statement now applies to the desk of the school principal. Accountability for purposeful educational outcomes rests with the school principal. Hard data are being required as evidence to prove educational gains and improvements. Assessment and evaluation skills loom more important than ever before. Tying academic program outcomes to meeting the goals and purposes of the school’s existence leads the list of the principal’s responsibilities. No school principal has a “magic wand” that brings about student academic performance automatically. New knowledge, skills and competency are required on the part of the school leaders.

9. The need for new knowledge and skills on the part of the school principal relative to developing a learning culture in the school requires an ongoing program of professional growth and development. School principals are required to be involved continuously in improving their own administrative competence. Being told “what to do” is seldom accompanied by “how to accomplish it.” Competency-based performance requires the achievement of new skills and knowledge on an ongoing basis. This topic is considered later in Chapter 2.

10. Current trends include the delegation of certain educational functions from the central school district office to the local school. Instructional leadership represents one such function. However, other functions of paramount importance for effective education outcomes also are finding their way to the principal’s office. Human resources administration, supervision of the classified/support staff, marketing of the school’s program, and meeting the demands for accountability through evidence of hard data are among other administrative functions that must be attended to at the local school level.

The foregoing contentions are examples of changes in the school principal’s position that underscore the need for the school’s assistant principal to be a position that is instrumental in providing the kind of leadership that serves to accomplish the school’s mission. We submit that such a goal will not be accomplished without making significant changes in the role, authority and qualifications of the assistant school principal, and professional growth programs that center on the knowledge and skills required by a relevant position description.

We are not proposing that the assistant principal completely assume many of the responsibilities of the school principal. Rather, the assistant principal must be given increased involvement in the primary functions of the school. Only by assigning the assistant principal meaningful responsibilities for the primary functions of the school can the position be enhanced and the school benefited by the services of the assistant principal’s position.

The Evolution of the Assistant School Principal

Attempting to identify the beginning of assistant principals in school administration is difficult at best. We do know that positions such as assistant teachers, head assistant, and even positions of grammar master and writing master were early historical assignments whereby one person was assigned to assist the school principal or head master by taking charge of the principal’s classroom when he/she was visiting other rooms, keeping good discipline, carrying out instructional duties, and being second in command when the principal was away. For example, by 1839 head assistants took charge when the principal was attending to other administrative tasks. By 1857, a principal and head assistant assumed joint responsibility for a school in Boston. In 1864, head assistants were appointed to several schools and other teachers were hired to assume the classroom duties previously performed by the head assistants.

The addition of assistant school principals at the secondary school level increased gradually from 1945 to 1965. Nevertheless, during these two decades many schools nationally, especially elementary schools, did not have the services of an assistant principal. It is not unusual to have part-time assistant principals in America’s schools even today.

Today, almost every middle and high school has the services of one or more assistant school principals. Such is not the case for elementary schools. We support the administrative models that include a school principal or co-principals with the administrative support of department/grade-level chairs, and assistant principals. In addition, we strongly recommend the use of teacher-leaders for administrative support in their areas of strength. The distributive administrative leadership organization will serve as the focus of the following book chapters.

A Pre-Quiz on the Assistant School Principal’s Position

Take a few minutes to test your knowledge of a few of the conditions surrounding the role of principal and assistant principal in America’s schools today. Check your answer for each of the statements that follow. Refrain from just guessing the answer; if you really do not know the answer, just move on to the next question.

1. Empirical evidence indicates that school districts throughout the country are facing problems and unprecedented challenges in recruiting and retaining competent school administrators. True ___ or False ___.
2. As late as the 1960s, many elementary school districts nationally had school principals who taught part-time as classroom teacher...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Meet the Author
• Preface
• 1 The Assistant School Principal: Bringing This Leadership Position to Life!
• 2 Competency-Based Leadership: Improving the Role of Assistant Principal by Focusing on the Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies Required by the Position
• 3 The Assistant Principal as a Student Advocate
• 4 The Assistant Principal as a Learning Leader
• 5 Student Personnel Services: It’s Your Leadership That Counts
• 6 A Resource File of Tasks, Competencies, and Indicators of Competencies for the Position of Assistant School Principal: Perfecting the Leadership Position
• Index